1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a power control mechanism, and in particular, a communication device and a power control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, users have changed their way of using mobile communication devices such as a smart phone or a tablet, by blogging and sharing their daily life experiences, increasing communication for work and business, and using the mobile communication devices for education and entertainment. Accordingly, network operators have increased the bandwidth for mobile networks in order to meet an expanding range of user applications.
A power amplifier (PA) plays an important role in a radio frequency (RF) transmitter circuit of a mobile communication device, serving to amplify a signal before driving the signal on the communication channel. The PA is typically placed next to the antenna, and consumes the most power in the transmitter circuit. As the requirement for radio bandwidth increases, the power consumption at the transmitter circuit becomes a crucial issue for designers. In order to increase a Power Added Efficiency (PAE) of the PA, the circuit design of the PA deploys several gain modes. The adjacent gain modes overlap with each other. With the employment of PA switch points (PASP) for the gain modes, the power amplifier can provide continuous and stable linear transmit power. Since the PA employs several gain modes, circuit designers are required to consider the overlapping coverage of the gain modes for the transmitter circuit to determine a set of PASPs. The determining of the set of PASPs, negatively impacts circuit performance and battery life of a mobile communication device.